A Visit To The Vet

Arrow went lame while we were out walking so I brought him home as soon as possible. In the dark there was a little blood visible on his paw. Half an hour later he was still bleeding on the bathroom floor so I called out the emergency vet and we went to meet her at the surgery. She kept him in overnight to repair his paw. He'd managed to cut open one of his pads - to the bone. Luckily he missed the tendons and major nerves. He came home from the vet with his paw in a cast and a course of antibiotics.

Home Again

We set off early (for us) as we wanted to be sure of arriving back in Blisworth with daylight to spare.

We stopped at Cosgrove for lunch:

and travelled in the company of a convoy of 12 boats from the Lionheart Boat Club of Great Linford whose membership are restricted to a maximum length of 38 feet as they moor pointing out into the canal in a layby. The great advantage is that they can fit four of their boats into a Grand Union broad lock at a time. Unlike the broad beam "Moose Drool" which completely filled the lock, going in the opposite direction.

We passed Castlethorpe Wharf from which we could just about see the windows of our first home at 3 South Street. At Stoke Bruerne we refuelled with ice cream at the Boat Inn before tackling the Blisworth tunnel. We met a novice steerer on a boat from Gayton Marina in the tunnel a short way from the north portal who stopped and it took a few minutes for them to straighten out enough to pass. We finally moored Syncopation at her home mooring again at about 5.30 PM.

Moored at Blisworth.

Total distance is 13 miles, 1¾ flg and 8 locks.

Back Through Milton Keynes

We passed back through Leighton Buzzard, picking up a replacement satellite cable connector from Homebase as well as essential supplies at Tesco and passing the Wyvern Shipping hire base.

We passed through Milton Keynes again in the afternoon, a surprisingly attractive place from the canal and stopped in Stantonbury.

Moored Stantonbury Bridge no. 75.

Total distance is 19 miles, ¼ flg and 8 locks.

Turn-Around

We turned around and headed back north to our home moorings today. We left Berkhamstead in the morning, passing back trough the Tring summit level and back down the Marsworth flight (hello again nb Harnser). We stopped for lunch near Wilstone reservoir, one of the ones built at Marsworth to supply water for the canal. They are also very picturesque, with attractive walks on their margins. We ventured into the woods and found mud and a stream.

After we had emptied his wellingtons, showered him down and dressed him in dry clothes Ewan was fine.

Moored at Slapton.

Total distance is 11 miles, ½ flg and 23 locks.

Marsworth and the Tring Summit Level

Cathy left for the day to deliver some of her paintings to exhibitions at Stowe House (Buckingham Art for All) and the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. We were joined by our friends Brian and June and their daughter Hannah for the day.

We passed up the Marsworth flight to the Tring summit level and then began descending to Berkhamstead where we stopped for the night.

At the bottom of the Marsworth flight is the junction with the Aylesbury arm.
I walked this arm as part of a sponsored event when I was at school in Aylesbury in the late seventies.

At the top of the flight is Bulbourne junction where the Wendover arm branches off and wooden narrowboats are still built and repaired at Bates' boatyard.

At Cowroast we passed the working pair Owl and Hampton.

Moored at Berkhamstead.

Total distance is 9 miles, 7 flg and 21 locks.

Near Ivinghoe

We passed through Leighton Buzzard today with it's very usefully located canalside Tesco store. The nearby DIY store is great for hardware bits as well.

We passed this caravan and lots of wildfowl including several herons and a pair of mandarin ducks.

Moored near Ivinghoe

Total distance is 9 miles, 5½ flg and 8 locks

After Milton Keynes

Today was a day of aqueducts and surprisingly green route through Milton Keynes. We passed Thrupp Wharf near Castlethorpe where we lived just after we got married in 1989. I often imagined passing that spot in our own boat. Today was that day. Later we passed over the new Grafton Street aqueduct.



We picked up our friends the Stockers for a couple of hours in the afternoon, dropping them off at Fenny Stratford lock.



This raft appears to have been abandoned in the canal.


We arrived at Willowbridge marina in the nick of time to fill Syncopation's fuel tanks.

Moored Near Stoke Hammond.

Total distance is 17 miles, 7¼ flg and 3 locks

Yardley Gobion Again

We have returned to Yardley Gobion, the destination of our initial weekend cruise in Syncopation. This time we're out for a little longer and the boat has a few more battle scars. We started out just after 4PM and arrived near Yardley at about 8PM.

Moored near Yardley Wharf.
Total distance 6 miles, 2¾ flg and 7 locks and 1 tunnel.